So in 2022, they celebrated their 64th birthday! Although it is not the first of its kind, similar building blocks with knobs on top had been invented a few years earlier, but the buildings made of them were not nearly as stable.
Only since the block is not just hollow from below, but the nubs can snap into a plug-in system, can you build almost anything with these stones and nothing collapses anymore. Ole Kirk Christiansen patented this invention on January 28, 1958, at 1:58 p.m.: The LEGO brick was born and began its triumphant march around the world.
The stuff the blocks are made of
It all started in 1932 in a small workshop in the Danish town of Billund: the cabinet maker Ole Kirk Christiansen made toys and wooden building blocks there and also experimented with other materials. Because there had been a fire in his wood store, the material for the new building blocks was supposed to be fireproof. If it isn't, plastic burns! But there were two things that impressed Christiansen about the plastic that LEGO parts are still made of today: It is very durable and also easy to shape. At exactly 232 degrees Celsius, it is soft and can be poured into molds.
And with that, the LEGO parts can be made to fit perfectly - they differ from each other by a maximum of a thousandth of a millimeter. This is so little that you cannot see it with the naked eye and all the stones fit on top of each other. Over 55 billion LEGO pieces are now manufactured every year. In the first fifty years that was more than 400 billion (400,000,000,000!) - four billion of them LEGO figures alone. In the meantime, the first trillion stones could have been reached. Every one of us, every person in the world owns an average of 130 LEGO bricks. And: The parts from back then still fit the parts of today. In this way, LEGO bricks do not end up in the trash but are rather passed on.
More than just a toy
Legos have come a long from being just a toy for kids to play with. From having their own theme parks to making Lego movies and video games, to partnering up with other major companies, Lego is doing it all. Today all the famous movies and video game franchises have their own Lego sets and even when there are none, fans can find similarities like within the case of Among Us lego piece 26047 meme. These Lego sets hold great collection values and are highly sought after by collectors.
One doesn’t have to buy Legos to know what they are, as they have become a cultural icon and have moved away from being just toys for kids. From having their own memes like lego piece 26047 to their very own movie genre, Legos have made a home for themselves in our hearts.
Interesting facts about LEGO:
Name: LEGO comes from "leg godt", in German: "play well"
Material: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a plastic. Until 1962/63 the stones were made of cellulose acetate.
Shapes: There are 2,400 different parts - from stones to figures to wheels. The first stone was red, had eight studs, and was one inch long. Incidentally, the very first LEGO set was the "city map": You could build a city out of stones, trees, and cars.
Figures: Has only been around since 1974. Minifigs, the LEGO figures still in use today, have been produced since 1978.
Company: The LEGO company in Billund is the fifth largest toy manufacturer in the world, employing 4,500 people.
Parks: There are four LEGO amusement parks: in Billund in Denmark, in Windsor near London, in California, and since 2002 there has also been a "LEGOland" in Germany: in Günzburg, Bavaria. Incidentally, the tallest tower made of LEGO bricks is at LEGOland in California. He is 28 meters high.
Prizes and awards: "Game of the Century" by "Fortune" magazine.
